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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Swinging the arc: two methods, one preferred
From: Paul Hirose
Date: 2011 Jan 06, 16:58 -0800
From: Paul Hirose
Date: 2011 Jan 06, 16:58 -0800
Hewitt Schlereth wrote: > To take the sun as an example: when you have it at the right altitude, > does the horizon appear to slide around the edge of the sun's disk, > just touchng it; as it were, stroking it? In my opinion rocking a sextand is one of those skills most easily learned by not attempting to think too hard. I went out this afternoon and shot the Sun (fairly low), and also a little cloud conveniently placed at a high altitude. Neither body was difficult to swing through the horizon, I wasn't conscious of using different movements for these bodies, and I couldn't begin to tell you how my rotation axis was oriented. If you have a clear picture of the body remaining more or less centered as the horizon approaches (or passes through) then retreats, I think your hand will learn to make it happen without conscious effort. Perhaps the books err in attempting to tell you how to move the sextant instead of making clear what you should see in the scope. Or the imagery is confusing. Some diagrams show the Sun swinging back and forth as if it's at the end of a little pendulum. --